1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to an apparatus for providing communication of image information via a line.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Some of prior-at image communication apparatus or facsimile machines connected to a telephone line have a single communication unit which sequentially processes communication jobs for transmitting or receiving image information. The prior-art apparatus also has an operation panel, a display panel, and a telephone set. The display panel is located near the operation panel. In general, the display panel indicates current communication conditions of the apparatus. When the operator executes an operation of communication reservations which generate communication jobs, the display panel is changed so as to indicate information related to the operation of communication reservations. Furthermore, in cases where telephone-set reservations are instructed during the execution of communication of image information, speech communication by the telephone set is enabled after the completion of the communication of image information.
The prior-art image communication apparatus have problems as follows. Since it is difficult to process two or more communication jobs at once, a long time tends to be spent in the execution of communication jobs if the number of communication jobs is large. A long time is also spent by a job of transmitting same image information to many destinations. Even in the case of communication jobs related to a common communication destination, since the communication jobs are processed independently of each other and the connection and disconnection of the apparatus to and from the telephone line are executed every communication job, the efficiency of communication tends to be low.